# Chapter 96
The silence that filled the room was colder than ever before. Kadilen concealed his surprise behind an impassive face. Then, without giving any time for words, he raised his sword.
A cold metallic sound rang out once, twice. Arzel, wincing, blocked his attack with somewhat strained movements. There was not a single opening in Kadilen’s quick and powerful movements.
“Your Highness!”
The fiercely swinging sword stopped when Ludin’s voice was heard from somewhere. As Kadilen hesitated, Arzel retreated. Only after seeing his faint smile did Kadilen realize there was some other scheme beyond this room. Was it really Ludin’s voice? Or was it an auditory hallucination born from his piercing longing? Why was Arzel in the place where he thought Ludin would be…
“Your Highness. I am a traitor guilty of high crimes.”
Arzel’s voice flowed slowly and smoothly.
“Because I attempted to usurp the throne against Your Highness.”
“Are you admitting your crime?”
“Yes. But if I am to leave as a criminal, shouldn’t I take at least one thing with me?”
While staring at Kadilen’s icy expression, Arzel slowly moved his steps. When his feet stopped in front of Kadilen’s, the tension among the soldiers standing behind intensified. If the king hadn’t quietly raised his hand to restrain them, they would all have cut off Arzel’s breath with their weapons. But disregarding this, Arzel raised the sword he was holding and aimed it at Kadilen’s throat.
“Kadilen.”
A frightening silence enveloped them once more.
“How about your life?”
No one could discern the emotions hidden behind that firm expression. Kadilen lowered his eyes slightly to look at the blade threatening his life. His gaze slowly rose again to meet Arzel’s wavering eyes. It was rather Arzel who was flustered by that straightforward and unfathomable gaze.
“Is that what you stayed here to obtain?”
Kadilen asked. With a voice lacking inflection, as if having an ordinary conversation. Arzel’s hand holding the sword trembled slightly.
“My life…”
When resolution finally mixed into Arzel’s eyes, a small smile formed at Kadilen’s lips.
“It won’t be easy.”
The sword threatening his neck suddenly clattered far away. Arzel rushed with a clamorous noise to pick up the fallen sword. Kadilen slowly followed behind, looking down at him without emotion. And when Arzel grasped the handle, the sword moved in a smooth curve, grazing Arzel’s arm. The instantly severed tendon contorted his expression. Arzel bent his waist with a deflating groan.
“Pick it up. Only then can you take my life, can’t you?”
Kadilen nudged Arzel’s sword on the floor with his foot. Making an unpleasant friction sound, the sword approached right before Arzel’s face. Rising with gritted teeth, he took his stance. The wound he had received from Ludin not long ago was still throbbing painfully. Using that pain as stimulation, Arzel swung his sword wide. Sweat ran down the hands of the soldiers waiting behind the king. This time, Kadilen also raised both hands to take a defensive stance. The tense duel continued for quite some time without pause.
As if it had never faltered, Arzel’s attack gradually regained strength. The two swords clashing countless times created sharp noises. It was a fight closer to instinct than reason. The soldiers who had been waiting ready to pounce if things went wrong held their breath at the increasingly prolonged duel. The strange thing was that Kadilen’s attack was not as aggressive as expected. The soldiers, anxiously standing by waiting for his orders, got the impression that the king was stalling for time. Kadilen was observing something. He was focusing intently on discovering something in Arzel’s movements, in each of his actions.
Finally, the duel stopped. Kadilen raised his sword high to block Arzel’s final attack. Arzel’s expression crumpled at the different force than before.
“Everyone, withdraw.”
Catching his breath in the momentary lull, Kadilen issued an incomprehensible order. The soldiers approached him worriedly.
“Pardon? Your Highness. What do you mean?”
“It’s dangerous.”
But Kadilen did not yield his intention. Seeing him shake his head firmly, the soldiers hesitated.
“It is time to withdraw.”
Though it was a sudden order, no one dared defy him. From the deepest room in the underground space, the royal soldiers gradually filed out. Watching the army recede like an ebb tide, Arzel’s face grew increasingly furrowed. He too could not easily understand this situation. From the beginning, Arzel hadn’t believed he could leave this place with his life intact. If he had wanted to live, he would have fled far away the moment he realized Kadilen’s deception. The failure of rebellion meant only death.
However, Arzel had remained here to gain something more important. Because there were people he absolutely had to take with him on the path he was about to travel. It wasn’t just Kadilen. Ludin. He was firmly bound just beyond the wall. If he couldn’t behead Kadilen himself, then so that his country’s soldiers could kill Ludin in his place. And so that after clearly seeing Kadilen’s anguished face before Ludin’s death, he could depart this world.
But Kadilen seemed to have realized something. Before long, only he and Arzel remained in the space. Arzel silently waited for Kadilen’s next move.
“Strike me down.”
A low command fell. When Arzel raised his eyes, Kadilen dropped the sword he had been gripping tightly to the floor. The cold sound disturbed the space that had been filled with only silence.
“You may tear this body apart as far as your grudge reaches. I permit you to take my life or take my throne.”
“…What is this…?”
“If what you have so desperately wanted is with me, now it is all yours. Do as you please. If you need my blood, my power, I will gladly give it to you.”
“…”
“But only Ludin…”
The calm voice trembled for the first time. It took a long while before the next words were uttered.
“Spare his life.”
Arzel’s eyes scanned Kadilen in confusion. How much was sincere, whether there was a trap—there was so much to consider in this sudden situation. But unlike the bewildered Arzel, Kadilen was quietly waiting for his answer. Arzel observed Kadilen carefully. What he discovered was the devotion in Kadilen’s eyes. A person more precious to him than anything he possessed. For him, Kadilen was volunteering to fall to rock bottom.
Upon glimpsing the profound resignation of someone who had let go of everything, Arzel felt the thrill of victory rising to the tip of his chin. The corner of his mouth lifted. The Kadilen he had hated to madness cherished Ludin far more than he had thought. It seemed Ludin had played his role more effectively than expected. At this rate, he would have no regrets even if he died immediately. At last, after running such a long distance, the opportunity for revenge had been granted. Thinking of the meaning of the two lives he was about to take, Arzel readjusted his grip on the sword.
“If that is your wish…”
There was no hesitation in the fiercely striking blade. Blood gushed from Kadilen’s chest as the sword plunged down without a moment’s hesitation. Unbearable pain surged explosively. However, Kadilen’s eyes, revealing not even a hint of pain, remained fixated on one place. Somewhere that could prove this sacrifice was not in vain. The place where a faint call had brushed past, where Arzel had been consciously looking back throughout the duel. From that very spot, a man slowly brought someone out. A head bowed lifelessly, a face devoid of vitality, bloodstains marking the entire body. Despite the miserable appearance, a person beautiful enough to dazzle the eyes.
Only then did hot tears flow from Kadilen’s eyes. He was alive. No longer flickering as a faint illusion, but existing distinctly. Even with labored breathing, life still emanated from him. Even if the soldiers came too late to save his own life as promised, it was enough to have seen him. If Ludin could safely leave this place, that would suffice. However, Ludin’s complexion turned pale upon discovering Kadilen who had silently sunk to the ground.
“Your Highness?”
“…Ludin.”
A low, cracking voice. Ludin forgot his own pain and rushed to him. But grasped by rough hands, he soon staggered and fell.
“You have no idea… how long I’ve waited for this moment.”
Arzel’s voice trembled with ecstasy. He raised his arm to strike Ludin down in one breath, just as he had done with Kadilen. But as his eyes flashed, the royal army did not miss their chance and burst in. Just as Arzel had hidden Ludin for the final moment, so had Kadilen done the same. Only that he had to sacrifice something less important to ensure Ludin’s safety more certainly. Even amid the confused crowd, Kadilen’s gaze remained fixed on Ludin. Like someone who couldn’t close his eyes without seeing him escape alive. In Kadilen’s field of vision appeared Arzel’s savage smile.
Despite the soldiers’ intense shouts, Arzel looked pleased. His own life no longer mattered to him. Only the joy of being able to punish Ludin in front of the dying Kadilen captivated him in this moment.
A sharp sword drew a large arc. Heavy screams called out different things.
Who was cut first? Two people collapsed to the floor simultaneously.
One with his neck severed, the other with his heart torn.
Noise and blood, all jumbled together, filled the space dreadfully. With nausea-inducing dizziness, Ludin’s vision went dark. The last thing he saw was Kadilen’s deep dark eyes, which he had failed to notice.
